A group of soldiers rose up yesterday against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro at a command post near Caracas, but were quickly arrested after posting an appeal for public support in a video, the government said.

Winter winds brought extreme cold and ice-slicked roads to the mid-western and eastern United States yesterday, with the Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday and an ongoing government shutdown allowing many to heed official advice to stay indoors.

Former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy has accused his successor Pinarayi Vijayan of misleading the people on the Sabarimala court rulings. The Supreme Court had on September 28 lifted an age-old bar on women of reproductive age from entering the temple.

Taiwan’s export orders in December suffered their steepest fall in more than two and a half years, increasing concern about global demand for the electronic gadgets pivotal for the island’s export-reliant economy.

QNB, the country’s largest lender, is considering a 1:10 stock split, whereby each share will be subdivided into 10 shares, a move that ought to enhance the liquidity of the scrip and thus help in price discovery.

Oil
Benchmark crude oil futures rallied for a third week, with gains of around 3.7% & 4.3% for Brent & WTI respectively. Prices increased by almost 18% in the last three weeks, erasing about 40% of the losses incurred since early October.